300 Series Shinkansen
| built = 1990–1998 | operations = 14 March 1992 – 16 March 2012 | builder = Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kinki Sharyo, Nippon Sharyo | produced = 69 sets (1,104 cars) | preserved = 2 cars | scrapped = 1,102 cars | numbers = J1 – J61, F1 – F9 | dimensions = 85 ft 6 in (26,050 mm) (end car) × 11 ft 1 in (3,380 mm) × 14 ft 7 in (4,440 mm) | power = Pantograph | type = EMU |gauge= 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) |formations = 16 cars per set |system = 25 kV AC (60 Hz) }} The 300 Series Shinkansen is a Japanese high-speed EMU. They were built for the Tokaido and Sanyo lines, from 1990-1998. Design This was the first Shankansen to depart from the nosecone or bullet styled front ends of previous Shinkansens. They are only in 16-car formations and don't feature restaurant cars. Two cars, car 322-9001 from pre-production set J1 and car 323-20 from full-production set J21, are preserved; car 322-9001 is on display at the SCMaglev and Railway Park in Nagoya, Japan, while car 323-20 was displayed beside car 322-9001 in the same hall at the SCMaglev and Railway Park. Car 323-20 was removed in December 2013 and its whereabouts are now unknown, though sources claim that the car has been scrapped; 700 Series car 723-9001 from pre-production 700 Series set C1 is currently displayed in its place as of January 2014. Variants The pre-production set J1 (originally J0) was delivered on the 8th of March 1990. After testing and endurance running it was put to work on the Nozomi services in March 1992. On the 1st of March 1991 the train set (a Japanese record at the time) a top speed of 202.3 mph (325.7 km/h). Its differences from the production versions are: different windscreen design; different headlight design; and flared side panels over the front bogies. It was withdrawn in March 2007 after testing new digital ATC equipment on the Tōkaidō line for JR Central. J sets (1992-2012): 60 of these sets were delivered to JR Central between February 1992 and October 1998. In 2004 plans to improve the ride on JR Central's 300 Series fleet were announced. These modifications were only to be added to the end cars (1 & 16), the pantograph cars (6 & 12) and the Green (luxury) cars (8 to 10). This meant that only seven out of the sixteen cars had this modification. The modification being; better lateral movement control. By February 2007 the whole fleet operated by JR Central had the changes made. The 300 Series started to be withdrawn in July 2007 with set J14. JR Central's fleet of 300 Series sets was withdrawn on 16 March 2012. F sets (1992-2012): 9 of these sets were delivered to JR West between December 1992 and September 1993. Since July 2011 they have been withdrawing them, and by later-2012 they are to be replaced by nine 700 Series C sets from JR Central. Specifications Construction was of aluminium, and one set could cater for 1,323 (1,123 standard + 200 green class) passengers. The top speed was 170 mph (280 km/h). An entire set had 40 GTO thyristor variable frequency drive traction motors, each producing 400 hp; total output was 16,000 hp (12mW). It ran off the 25 kV AC, 60 Hz power-grid. References *Wikipedia.org Category:Electric Trainsets Category:JR Group trains Category:Hitachi locomotives Category:Kawasaki locomotives Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives